Mediagazer: With New Funding From Omidyar, Versa Launches Its Network For Sponsored Op-Eds (Anthony Ha/TechCrunch)

2:30 PM ET, January 30, 2014

Top News:

Lucia Moses / Adweek:

Inc. Media Hires Jim Ledbetter from Thomson Reuters — Mansueto Ventures' Inc. Media is hiring Jim Ledbetter from Thomson Reuters as editor of its namesake magazine and website. The veteran business journalist was named the first op-ed editor at Reuters as part of a hiring spree three years ago.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Poynter, @jeffchu, @kenli729, @alexmleo, @antderosa, @moorehn, @jillpriluck, @ledbetreuters and Talking Biz News

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Tim Franklin is Poynter's new president — The Poynter Institute announced Thursday that its new president will be Tim Franklin, the Washington managing editor for Bloomberg News. Franklin was director of the National Sports Journalism Center at the Indiana University School of Journalism …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, @poynter and @davidfolkenflik

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

News of the World had a ‘legendary safe’ where ‘stories were buried’ — Former reporter Dan Evans tells Old Bailey hacking trial that top secrets were kept as a form of insurance — The News of the World had a “legendary safe” where “all sorts of stories were buried” about the rich and famous, the Old Bailey has heard.

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian: Andy Coulson ‘not in NoW office on day phone hacker said he heard voicemail’

Press Association:
Dan Evans ‘wanted to be caught’ phone-hacking, court told

Discussion: Guardian and Daily Mail

Nic Christensen / mUmBRELLA:

Journalistic utopias don't work — The Global Mail's threatened closure is a huge missed opportunity for journalism, but there are lessons to be learned about letting journalists run the show, argues Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes. — Back in what I now realise were the final golden years of local newspapers …

Discussion: @nicchristensen, @mumbrella and @rwilliamson_

Megan Reynolds / mUmBRELLA:
The Global Mail faces closure after Wood withdraws funding

Discussion: The Global Mail, @matt_levinson and Guardian

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

U.S. ‘Deeply Concerned’ Over Press Freedom In China As New York Times Reporter Forced Out — NEW YORK — White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that the U.S is “deeply concerned” about the ability of foreign journalists to do their jobs in China, shortly after New York Times …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Carney Concerned About Press in China Facing ‘Restrictions’

Discussion: Poynter and Politico

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

The Times' video dilemma — Early last year, The New York Times was making its first big sales push since revving up its digital video strategy, and it locked down two large upfront deals with two tony advertisers. — One was Acura, which signed on for a full year.

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, @joepompeo, @jbenton, @tmcgev, @hornmultimedia and @profsamuels_nyu

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

Major Expansion Ahead at The Washington Post — The Washington Post has significantly increased its budget and plans to make dozens of newsroom hires under its new owner, the Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos, the paper's executive editor, Marty Baron, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Discussion: Media Nation, Adweek, Talking Points Memo, @yarotrof, The Huffington Post, @abihabib, Guardian, @adamnagourney, Mediawire Daily, @paula_span, @ktumulty, New York Magazine, @pkafka, Poynter, FishbowlDC, Capital New York, JIMROMENESKO.COM and Washingtonian

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

Times raises paywall a little higher on mobile — The New York Times has tweaked its pay meter for mobile apps. The bottom line is you're likely, depending how you use them, to hit the paywall sooner. — Starting today, users reaching Times content on mobile apps will get free access …

Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab and FishbowlNY

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

With New Funding From Omidyar, Versa Launches Its Network For Sponsored Op-Eds — Versa is launching a new network for sponsored op-eds, which it calls Featured Perspectives. — The startup is also announcing that it has raised additional funding led by The Omidyar Network …

Discussion: Re/code, PR Newswire and @keyajay

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Fox News once again most and least trusted name in news — PPP's 5th annual poll about trust in TV news continues to find what it does every year: Fox News is both the most trusted and least trusted name in news. — 35% of Americans say they trust Fox News more than any other TV news outlet …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, JIMROMENESKO.COM and @ppppolls

Ryan Chittum / Columbia Journalism Review:

The Guardian's windfall ensures its long-term future — The Guardian's windfall ensures its long-term future — The Guardian, which until not that long ago was respected but little-read outside the UK, is now in the front ranks of English-language newspapers and one of the most important …

Discussion: Capital New York, @jamesrbuk, @johngapper, @johngapper, @johngapper, @emilybell, @emilybell, @johngapper, @ryanchittum, @emilybell, @emilybell, Guardian and @janinegibson

Alex Weprin / Capital New York:

N.F.L. creating digital channel: ‘NFL Now’ — The National Football League is creating a new HD digital video channel called “N.F.L. Now.” The channel, which launches this summer, will be available on any device, though apps for iOS, Android and Windows systems, and on web browsers through NFL.com/Now.

Discussion: Business Insider and Los Angeles Times

Clair Lorell / Digiday:

FTW: How USA Today Mastered Viral Sports Content — Who said old dogs can't learn new tricks — and get them shared on Facebook millions of times. — USA Today has looked for inspiration in the current crop of viral media darlings, BuzzFeed and Upworthy, for a sports section that mixes original …

Discussion: Capital New York and @pkafka, Thanks:@bmorrissey

Steve Kovach / Business Insider:

Facebook Gets Into The News Business With A New Story Curation App Called Paper — Facebook announced today it's launching a news curation app for iPhone called Paper. — The Paper app pulls in news stories, photos, and videos your friends share in their News Feeds and displays them in a photo-intensive layout.

Discussion: The Verge, TechCrunch, Businessweek, Facebook, Re/code, TechCrunch, NYT Bits, The Next Web, Digits, App Advice, @brandwatch, Gigaom, Engadget and ReadWrite

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Former Sun managing editor Richard Caseby lands top Government PR role — Former Sun managing editor Richard Caseby has been named as the new director of communications for the Department of Work and Pensions. — Caseby left News UK (formerly News International) after 24 years with the company …

Discussion: @justice4daniel and @beaubodor

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:

Tech isn't just a talking point, it's the media's new context — Tech isn't just a talking point, it's the media's new context. — Via youtube.com — If you want to understand Ezra Klein's departure from the Washington Post to Vox Media, as well as the context of the larger conversation about …

Discussion: metamedia, @jamesrbuk, @psmith, bookforum.com, @mat, @tldr, @blakehounshell, @yurivictor, @mattzeitlin, @tcarmody, @bethshanna, @ezraklein, @jayrosen_nyu and Economist

Michael Learmonth / AdAge:

When Super Bowl Advertisers Compete For the Web, Google Wins — Winning the Pre- and Post- Super Bowl Is Increasingly What Counts — The big game isn't until Sunday, but for Super Bowl advertisers the first quarter is already over. That's because increasingly the battle isn't for the game itself …

Discussion: Latest News & Headlines, Forbes, Globe and Mail, Speakeasy and Variety

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

BSkyB signs new five-year deal for exclusive rights to HBO TV catalogue — Broadcaster struck early to secure wide-ranging two-pronged deal with HBO and head off threat from rival BT — BSkyB has signed a five-year deal for the exclusive rights to the entire HBO TV catalogue …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters, The Independent, BBC, Reuters, Associated Press, Telegraph and BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Viacom 1Q Net Income Rises 16% Despite Film Revenue Declines — Viacom said advertising revenue at its many cable-TV networks drove a 16% increase in net income its fiscal first quarter as it narrowed an operating loss at its filmed-entertainment division. — Viacom's net income …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters and Wall Street Journal

Jasper Jackson / TheMediaBriefing.com:

People.co.uk & UsvsTh3m: Has Trinity Mirror learned from their contrasting fortunes? — Advertising, Consumer Media, Digital Media, Finance and Deals, Mobile, Newspapers — Trinity Mirror's closure of People.co.uk and its promotion of the people behind UsVsTh3m and Ampp3d show …

Discussion: Trinity Mirror plc and BuzzFeed

Ian Burrell / The Independent:

LBC to take on Radio 5 Live with national expansion — Global Radio, Britain's largest commercial radio company, is launching a national news and politics network which will rival the BBC's Radio 5 Live. — Global is putting its long-running London station LBC on a national footing …

Sarah Mitroff / CNET:

After delay, Beats Music lands on Windows Phone — A Beats Music app quietly popped up Thursday in the Windows Phone app store, roughly one week after the new streaming service made its debut. Beats Music competes with Spotify and Rdio and first launched for Android and iOS on January 21.

J. David Goodman / New York Times:

Attack on Gay Journalist Not a Hate Crime, Police Say — The police on Wednesday charged a Queens man in the beating of a gay journalist in Midtown Manhattan but said the attack was not a hate crime. — Detectives said the man, Leighton Jennings, 24, had been seen by witnesses …

Discussion: Gawker, NY Daily News, New York Post, Gothamist, CBS News, International Business Times, Associated Press and The Huffington Post

Jason Clampet / Skift:

Time Inc. Is Shutting Down Executive Travel Magazine — Time Inc. will shut down Executive Travel magazine, which it acquired in October when it purchased American Express Publishing, Skift has learned. — Time Inc. is the largest magazine publisher in the U.S. and is preparing to spin off …

Mark Sweney / Guardian:

The Sun links up with O2 to offer Premier League clips with 4G deals — Publisher's Sun+ digital offering gains massive boost as it joins packages available to mobile network's 23 million UK customers — The Sun has struck a deal with mobile operator O2 to offer its 4G customers content …

Discussion: Mobile Entertainment Feed, Product Reviews Net and News UK